Family Secrets
by Kinai
Summary: It is a week after the failed wedding. A conversation with Ukyo will cause that Ranma and Akane make a surprising discovery about their families.
1. Chapter 1: Secrets Unveiled

Disclaimers:

- Ranma belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

- This story is made for fun and is meant for the enjoyment of the fans.

- I have to thank Kirra and Rebecca Thornton for revising this chapter & Louise McCrowe for reviewing it. Thank you very much.

- Please C&C.

- If anybody wants to be a pre reader and help me you only have to e-mail me. I would be happy to accept. Thanks.

- I would like to have illustrations of my stories. So if anyone is interested, please email me. Thanks.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Chapter 01: Secrets Unveiled.

Nodoka was drinking tea quietly in the living room of the Tendo's house. Little volutes of steam rose from the hot liquid. The warm cup laid between the delicate hands of Nodoka, who from time to time, brought it to her lips and took a sip.

The tranquillity and silence reigned in the house and only the martial shouts of the students muffled by the distance challenged this calm.

Suddenly the entrance door opened with a strong blow that broke the atmosphere of the house and announced the arrival of the two youngest habitants of the house.

Nodoka sighed for the lost tranquillity and turned towards the room's door. A moment later this opened and Ranma and Akane entered in the living room.

"Good afternoon." Nodoka greeted them with a smile while she stood up, however neither teenager returned the greeting.

Ranma stood by the entrance of the living room with his eyes fixed on the floor, avoiding look at her mother. At his side Akane stared at him. Her hands, crossed in front of her, held her schoolbag with so much strength that she had the knuckles white.

After a moment where none pronounced a word, Ranma looked at Akane. This one frowned and pointed at Nodoka with a slight movement of her head. Ranma turned towards his mother.

"Mom…Listen…Today we had talked with Ukyo. Well, no… Really Ukyo came to talk with me…"

The smiled disappeared from Nodoka's face, but neither Ranma, who was too busy searching for appropriates words, nor Akane, noticed it.

"We didn't talk with her since the wed… well…you know."

Akane huffed and started to tap her finger on her school-bag

* * *

While the echoes of the bell, that indicated the end of the class, still resounded, Ranma stretched in his chair to get the stiffness out of his muscles. At his side Akane went to talk with her friends while the rest of his classmates stood up, started to clear their tables or talk among them.

Ranma took his schoolbag, opened it and, without hurry, started to pick up; until he felt unexpectedly, that somebody pulled his arm gently. On raising his head he met Ukyo's inquisitive glance.

"Why have you been avoiding me all the week?" She asked seriously but quietly so nobody else, Akane specially, could hear her.

Ranma looked away angered and fixed his eyes in her desk.

"How could you ask me it after that Shampoo and you did?" The curtness of his answer surprised Ranma himself; but it didn't frighten off Ukyo who let out a loud guffaw.

"Come on Ranma! Don't tell me that you really wanted get married." She answered in an amusing tone, slightly sarcastic.

Neither realised that Ukyo's laugh have caught Akane's attention, and this one approached them with an angry face. But Ukyo continued before Akane arrived and could interrupt the conversation or Ranma added anything.

"You don't need to lie. Your mother was the one that invite me to the wedding. She told me that you would be happy if, for any reason, the wedding didn't take place."

Ranma looked at Ukyo who saw clearly in the face of her fiancé the surprise and confusion that her words had caused. The idea that Ranma didn't know anything about the plans of her mother assailed Ukyo.

A question pronounced in a low voice at her back interrupted her thoughts.

"Why?"

Ukyo's words had stopped Akane just when she had gone to grasp the shoulder of her rival; so when the young chef turned around, she met Akane's half-outstretched arm. Ukyo noted that Akane's hand shook slightly and her face had the same expression of surprised and disbelief of Ranma's.

Akane didn't pay attention to Ukyo. Her eyes were fixed on Ranma, with the vain hope to find an answer to her question.

"Why?"

* * *

Ranma finished his story and the silence returned to the room. Akane had stopped tapping and both teenagers observed Nodoka with the hope that this one refuted Ukyo's words. However Nodoka merely continued looking them with a sad expression.

During a few minutes it was only listened in the living-room the deadened noises of the dojo and the song of a bird in the tree of the garden.

Finally Nodoka made a decision. She sat down again in front of her cup of tea and she started to stir the cold liquid with a teaspoon.

"Do you really want be marry?" Nodoka asked. The tone of her voice was calm but it had a touch of sadness.

Neither Ranma, nor Akane expected this question; therefore it caught them completely by surprise. Ranma started to babble an answer but before he could say anything coherent Akane exploded.

Akane's anger had risen greatly after seeing Ukyo talking to Ranma, but the words of Ukyo had covered her rage with surprise and confusion. Nodoka's inappropriate and rude question filled Akane with rage; a rage hidden under her surprise, but which was fed by her confusion.

"Since when do you care about our opinion?"

Ranma and Nodoka looked at her surprised by her outburst. Akane had the head lowered, her glance fixed in the floor, her shoulders sank and all her body trembled with rage.

"Our fathers are only interested in join the schools. You are only interested in Ranma manliness. You helped them to prepare the wedding. And you never asked us what we wanted!"

"Akane…" Nodoka whispered but nobody heard her.

"Now it turned out that you told Ukyo to sabotage our wedding. Why? Do you enjoy fucking with our lives?"

Akane rose her head as the question burst from her lips, and Ranma's mother could see the tears that flowed down by Akane's cheeks. Nodoka sighed and shook her head.

"You don't understand. You and Ranma can't marry."

"Why?" Ranma exclaimed before Akane could reacted.

"Because you and Akane are siblings." Nodoka said.

TBC...

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Answer to the Reviews:

ShogunZX: Thanks. If you know any other story where Ranma & Akane are siblings, please tell me. I would like to read it.

Ghost in the Machine & Stick-Man Smith: I understand your points. I thought about it while I was writing the next chapter, and I think that you are going to find part of the answers there.

Cherry Blossum Sweeper: Thanks for your offer. I didn't ask you to review the next chapter, because I forgot it. I'm sorry. :(

slimjim27: I re-uploaded it because I had made a few changes. Sorry for the confusion.

FanSel: I already planned the story. I only can hope that you like it.

Last but not least. I'm very grateful for the reviews of: Dumbledork, Ranmawho1, Upgrade, Cylon One, Sabayn, Kendo Baby, The Rabid Badger, dennisud, SithKnight-Galen, Sean Malloy-1, Ranchee, Streaming Radiant Fire, MYinnerNINJA, MiriamBB666 & bookworm2009. I hope that you like the next chapter too.


	2. Chapter 2: Some Truth

Disclaimers:

- Ranma belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

- This story is made for fun and is meant for the enjoyment of the fans.

- I have to thank JadeDragonHawk for revised this chapter & Louise McCrowe for reviewing it. Thank you very much.

- Please R&R.

- If anybody wants to be a pre reader and help me you only have to e-mail me. I would be happy to accept. Thanks.

- I would like to have illustrations of my histories. So if anyone is interested, please email me. Thanks.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Chapter 2: Some Truth.

Upon hearing his mother's response, Ranma's first reaction was disbelief. It wasn't that he didn't believe his mother; he couldn't believe her. What she had just told them was impossible. It was a joke; it had to be a joke. He was so convinced of it that he wouldn't have been surprised, in that moment, if his mother had acknowledged it with a big smile.

However, one glance at Nodoka's face was enough to bury that idea.

After giving them the astounding news, his mother hadn't moved from her place; she'd just stopped stirring the tea, and had turned toward them. Her relaxed attitude had disappeared completely, being replaced by a serious expression without a trace of humor. A sad look on her eyes that expected, and feared, their reaction.

Ranma couldn't register all these details but felt, without needing any further proof, that his mother wasn't joking; she had told them the truth.

Before he could fully assimilate the news, his companion exploded in indignation. Akane always had been quick-tempered, especially when she felt humiliated as in this case.

She, like Ranma, couldn't believe that they were brother and sister, but neither could she conceive that anyone could joke about something so serious. She could only think of one explanation for Ranma's mother's sabotage of their wedding. And that was, for some reason, she had found Akane unworthy of Ranma. Telling them that they were siblings, a lie, was a subtle way of rejecting Akane without humiliating her publicly. This way, her son was free to marry someone else more "adequate", while the relationship between the two families remained intact.

Apparently, their feelings didn't matter at all. But if their parents believed that she would submit to their authority without a fight, they were very wrong.

At that moment Akane decided to fight their parents' decision with all her strength, without realizing that this would prove, beyond any doubt, that she cared for Ranma.

She wiped her tears with the cuff of her blouse, looked at Nodoka with steely determination and snapped.

"Well! Don't count me in for this charade!"

Turning around, she stormed out of the room at a steady pace and slammed the door behind her.

The echoes were still resounding in the room, when her fiancé turned round to the door, ready to follow her. But he hadn't taken a single step, when his mother called him.

"Ranma! Wait! Don't go! It's better to leave her alone for now. Give her time to accept it."

Her words had an immediate effect on Ranma who stopped, wondering what to do.

On one hand, he wanted to follow and talk to Akane, ask her if she was ok… but he knew that his mother was right. It was better to give her time. He also had to recognize that words weren't his forte and, in such a delicate moment, it wasn't unlikely that he would say something inappropriate and make the situation worse. But he wanted to be with her, support and comfort her...

Before he could make a final decision, Akane's footsteps faded into the distance.

Believing that it was too late to follow her, Ranma turned towards his mother with a sigh of resignation. Again face to face, the boy looked into her eyes and asked with a pleading voice.

"Mom, please, tell me. What you said, is it true? That we're ... we are ..."

He was unable to pronounce the word, but his mother understood him perfectly.

"Yes, it's true," she replied without hesitation; only a slight sadness clouded her words.

"Is Soun my father?" the boy managed to ask with broken voice.

"No!"

"Then, you and Genma are Akane's parents?"

"Neither."

The answers had been clear, but so concise, that Ranma was starting to become exasperated by the little information obtained.

"If you aren't Akane's parents, and Soun isn't my father, then how could we be siblings?" the young man asked slightly annoyed.

"It's true that both of you have the same parents; however, of those whom you consider to be your parents, none of us really are."

Ranma kept quiet with his head bowed, while he assimilated what his mother, or at least the woman that he had believed was his mother; had told him.

Most of his life he hadn't known who his mother was; when he finally met her, a stupid promise prevented him from appearing as her son. And now, when they could finally be a normal family, it was she who admitted to not being his mother.

This news had thrown his heart into indescribable chaos.

Surprise, anger, disbelief and fear fought each other to gain supremacy among his emotions. Meanwhile, confidence, weakened by the doubts about his origins, watched from a prudent distance.

Suddenly he remembered a detail, impossible to falsify, that belied his mother's allegations.

Slowly, he raised his head and with a strangely calm voice for the circumstances, he said,

"Everything's a lie! If you're not my mother, how do you explain that we look so alike?"

"You're right. We are so alike, that I don't understand how I didn't realize before that you were Ranma." Her words were nothing more than thinking aloud. "When you told me that you were Akane's cousin, I believed it and didn't think more about it. The truth is that I don't have a good memory for faces."

A faint smile appeared on her face as she remembered when she mistook Ranma for a stranger.

Nodoka shook those thoughts out of her head, looked her son in the eye, and said very seriously.

"Believe me when I tell you that I always have and will love you as if you were my own son. But what I told you is true. I am not your mother. The woman who gave birth to you is my older sister."

The young man couldn't hide his surprise and, with a look of utter amazement, he repeated the words that would change his life.

"Your…older…sister…"

"That's right," Nodoka confirmed. Feeling that an explanation was needed, she added, "Although she was three years older than me, we looked so much alike that even our parents used to mistake us until she started wearing glasses."

Ranma wasn't listening.

Once his adoptive mother confirmed the shocking news, he started to walk slowly towards the door leading to the garden. Nodoka said nothing, but followed him with a sad look, looking for a gesture of understanding on his figure.

She didn't find it.

The young man, stunned by what he had learned, walked completely absorbed, without seeing the pleading eyes of the woman, that until that moment he had considered to be his mother.

When he was about to leave the room, she asked slightly worried.

"Where are you going, Ranma?"

This stopped him momentarily under the lintel of the door.

"I'm going to... train." he suddenly said, without turning, as if he just had the idea.

Without saying a word, the boy went out into the garden, turned the corner of the house and disappeared from sight. Alone again, Nodoka stared at the garden with tears in her eyes, and the name of the boy whom she considered her son on her lips.

* * *

The door opened with such force that it bounced off the wall, and nearly hit Akane when she entered. Without stopping, she slammed the door with a resounding thud, and launched her school-bag at the table that was beneath the window. Its heavy landing displaced what was already on the table, knocking part of it over.

She didn't pay attention to the pattering of objects on the ground, and threw herself full-length on the bed, hugging the pillow.

Alone in her room, Akane's anger and indignation soon lost their intensity, like a fire left unfed; leaving behind a lingering feeling of despair, which crystallized into a simple question.

"Why do they do this?"

The forced betrothal, the other fiancées, preparing two weddings and sabotaging everything at the last minute; everything was expressed in that complaint, formulated as a question in a whisper.

Trying to find meaning in such nonsense, the girl searched among her memories for anything that could have made her inadequate in the eyes of Nodoka. Unfortunately, her mood and insecurities stained the memories, making them blacker than they really were; and as the tears returned to flow down her cheeks, she felt absolute certainty that Ranma's mother didn't want her as her child's wife. The events that had occurred since their return from China proved it.

Before Akane could sink further into despair, someone knocked on the door. The unexpected sound shocked the young woman who only managed to sit up on the bed and ask with a quivering voice.

"Who is it?"

"Akane; it's me, Nodoka. May I come in?"

The girl froze, not knowing what to do. She didn't want to see the woman who had rejected her; not so soon. Although she burned with desire to ask Nodoka the reasons why she couldn't marry her son. And this time she wanted the truth, not a stupid lie.

In view of the lack of response, Nodoka insisted.

"Akane, let me in, please."

Her voice was tinged with concern, but the young woman, immersed in her indecision, didn't notice it.

The minutes passed slowly, until the voice of Ranma's mother was heard again.

"Akane! I'm coming in!"

The door didn't take long to open and Nodoka walked into the room. A look helped her to realize the mess caused by the landing of the school-bag, the objects lying around and the small stains on the pillow; before her eyes landed on Akane, who had turned upon hearing the door opening.

Her reddened face, watery eyes and the trails of tears that flowed down her cheeks were sufficient confirmation of Nodoka's fears.

"Oh Akane! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" she cried. "Believe me, my intention wasn't to hurt you."

The young woman didn't react at first, but slowly the sadness left her features and, as its embers ignited, anger took its place.

"Why have you come?" she asked with furious tone.

"I want to talk with you," Nodoka replied slowly and gently, but with a hint of concern, trying to calm Akane. "And know how you are."

"And how did you think I was going to be?" the girl exploded. "Jumping for joy?"

Akane's voice oozed so much sarcasm, that it caused Nodoka to shudder visibly. She had to clasp her hands in front of her chest to try to control the tremor that ran through her body.

"I understand how you feel," she began soothingly.

'And what do you know about how I feel?' the young woman thought irritated.

"When I found out, it was too late to stop the wedding in another way."

On saying that, Nodoka lowered her eyes to avoid looking at Akane, lest she be caught out in her lie. Although it was true that the sabotage was the only way of stopping the wedding that had occurred to her, none of this would have been necessary if she had told the fathers what she knew, or thought she knew. However, this meant she had to admit to Genma that Ranma wasn't their son and, for many reasons, Nodoka hadn't strength to tell her husband the truth.

"I know that I ruined your day," she continued, "but if you had married, it would have been much worse."

Her insistence on such an absurd lie only further infuriated Akane, who with great difficulty managed to control herself enough to refrain from yelling at her.

"At least tell me why you don't want us to get married. Is it because I don't know how to cook or because I'm not as a good fighter as him?"

Nodoka's mind took a few seconds to understand what the girl had just said and its connotations; but when she got it, her reaction was of complete and genuine surprise.

"Do you think that I have invented everything, because I don't want you to marry my son? Oh, Akane! Do you think that ...? "

The young woman couldn't take it anymore.

"Enough!" she shouted. "Stop lying! It's just the two of us. You don't need to lie to anybody! Come on! Dare to tell me the truth!"

The last words came out choked with emotion, while the tears ran down her face freely again.

Nodoka winced at seeing the girl's suffering. She regretted what she had to do, although she kept telling herself it would have been worse if she had done nothing. This thought had consoled her when she had sabotaged the wedding, but it was no longer enough.

Trying not to think about it anymore, Ranma's mother attempted to calm her son's fiancée, and with her most soothing and quiet voice, she said,

"Akane, there is no reason why I wouldn't want you to marry Ranma. Moreover, I'd be the first to be glad for your happiness. Unfortunately, I fear that Ranma is your brother."

The girl continued crying with her head bowed, without say anything.

After a little hesitation, Nodoka sat on the bed next to Akane and tried to hug her.

"No!" Akane said sobbing, while she raised her arm to move Nodoka away. "Leave me alone! I don't need you to console me!"

Undeterred, the woman dodged girl's raised arm, and wrapped her in a hug while whispering soothingly in her ear.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Akane didn't have the strength to move her away, or perhaps it was that, despite her initial rejection, she really needed the consolation; the fact was that both remained embraced for a long time in the silence of the room, broken only by the sobs of the girl and the reassuring whispers of her companion.

After a while Nodoka felt the girl's breath slowly calming, while her sobs died down. Happy to be able to help, Ranma's mother remained embracing Akane silently.

Finally, the silence was broken by the young woman.

"Why? Why, if we're siblings, didn't you tell us in the first place? Why did you let me fal..."

Akane's voice broke off from the emotion, unable to finish the sentence.

"I would have done if I had known, but I only discovered it after the bird-men kidnapped you."

Surprised, Akane broke the hug and stared at Nodoka with tearful eyes.

"Do you expect me to believe that, until now, you didn't know that Ranma was your son? What was the cause? A collective hallucination for nine months?"

The teenager felt herself getting worked up, just thinking about how she had been about to believe such a stupid lie. There was no way this entire story was true. This was the real world, not a manga in which the couple who are the two main characters, after being separated at birth, meet again in their teens.

Nevertheless, Nodoka kept Akane's gaze. When she spoke her voice was clearly annoyed.

"Of course I knew that Ranma wasn't my son! How couldn't I know it, when I wasn't the one who gave birth to him?" While she spoke her eyes started to fill with tears. "But I've always considered him my son, even if I wasn't a good mother. Not a day goes by that I don't regret having accepted that stupid contract and allowing Genma to take him away for ten years." Unable to hold back her tears any longer, her eyes welled up. "I would do anything to make him happy, and I won't allow you to ruin your lives by getting married. Not after what Soun told me."

Akane, surprised by this unexpected confession, didn't know what to say and sat listening in silence.

* * *

The day had been long and tough for the residents of the house. Not only having to deal with the abduction of Akane, but also continuing their daily tasks. Therefore Nodoka was a bit surprised when, after finishing tiding the kitchen, she saw that the living room light was still on.

She quickly assumed it would be Soun who was there. This wasn't very difficult, considering that Happosai had not been seen in the house for days, and Akane's sisters had long since retired to their rooms.

For a time Nodoka stood in the doorway of the kitchen, unsure of what to do. Finally, despite her exhaustion, she decided to see how Soun was, since Akane's kidnapping had been a hard blow for him.

On reaching the room, she found him sitting at the table, flipping through a photo album with teary eyes. Before him there were two empty bottles of sake, and a third one that was almost finished.

She quietly observed the scene from the door leading to the garden, and could not help but feel sorry for the state in which the patriarch of the Tendo family found himself.

The moment that he placed, with a trembling hand, the third empty bottle on the table, she walked toward the drunken, slouched figure with the reddened face, a shadow of what was supposed to be a master of martial arts.

"Soun, you should stop. You've drunk too much," she said with a firm but compassionate tone.

Upon hearing those words he turned and, for a moment, he didn't recognize the woman standing beside him.

Then his face lit up and his eyes were filled with tears again. Suddenly he leapt onto her, hugged her legs and said with a broken voice.

"Oh Kimiko! I'm sorry! I couldn't fulfill the promise. Please, forgive me!"

Nodoka, paralyzed by the shock, needed a few seconds to remember that Kimiko was the name of Soun's deceased wife. Apparently, the sake's fumes had made Soun mix them up.

Sorrow filled Nodoka's heart, but her head reminded her that she was in a very awkward position.

Without losing a moment she tried, in the least violent way possible, to escape his grasp; while she repeated over and over again, that she wasn't Kimiko. Her voice wasn't able to penetrate the haze of his drunkenness and, in his confusion, Soun told her a secret that he had never revealed to anyone.

"Forgive me! I hadn't strength to tell her that we aren't her real parents. Now the bird-men have kidnapped her and I don't know if we'll ever see…"

The rest, unintelligible, was drowned by his tears.

The surprise stopped Nodoka's attempts to free herself; and she kept watching in compassionate silence, the distraught man still hugging her legs.

However, after the first moment of stupor, Nodoka wasn't surprised to discover that Akane was adopted. Although it wasn't as common as in other countries, adoptions weren't totally unusual in Japan. She, for example, had to take care of his sister's son…

Without any warning, her mind was struck by a feeling leaving her confused and afraid. She tried with all her might to dismiss that thought, but doubt had already rooted deep in her heart.

With more force than necessary, she grabbed Soun by the shoulders and while shaking him to get his attention, she asked.

"Who are Akane's parents? Soun please, tell me."

Soun looked at her through veiled eyes without appearing to have understood her question. Then, slowly, he turned to the album, raised his arm and pointed to one of the photos. Nodoka had to bend to see whom he pointed at. When she managed to discern it, her eyes widened and her breath faltered.

It couldn't be. It was impossible, but she knew that man. Although she had seen him only once in her life, she had never forgotten his features. The man, to whom Soun pointed, was her sister's husband. The man from whose arms she had received Ranma.

* * *

Once it became clear that Nodoka had finished her story, Akane asked, clearly surprised.

"And is that all?"

Nodoka nodded without turning to look at her.

The girl, unable to sit still, began to wander around the room, pausing briefly, from time to time, in front of Nodoka.

"You're saying that you sabotaged our wedding... No! Worse! You told Ukyo to sabotage our wedding because you think that Ranma and I are siblings. And the only evidence you have is that you thought you recognized in a photo the man who gave Ranma to you?"

The tone of her voice rose as she spoke, so that her last words were screamed rather than spoken.

"That man is Ranma's father!" Nodoka tried to defend herself.

"I don't care!" Akane shouted angrily. "Even if he's Ranma's father, that doesn't make him my father!"

Nodoka remained seated shaking her head. Akane didn't notice, or didn't want to notice it, and continued arguing loudly; at times, at the top of her voice.

"What proof do you have? That my father had a picture of him doesn't mean anything! Besides, you could be mistaken!"

"Your father pointed him to me."

"And! You yourself have said that he was drunk as a skunk! For God's sake! If he confused you with my mother!"

Nodoka stood up and faced her.

"Do you think that I do not know? Do you think I am so stupid that I don't realize it's almost impossible? Do you believe that I couldn't think of these ideas and many more?"

Akane turned around and leaned on her messy desk, gripping its edges with such force that her knuckles turned white.

"Then why did you do it?" she demanded hoarsely. "Why did you sabotage the wedding?"

Nodoka sighed and said with a calm voice.

"Because, despite all the reasons against it, I couldn't help but think that there was a slim chance that everything was true." She paused briefly, hoping that her words were sinking into the stubborn girl. "Imagine if you marry him and you are really siblings!"

"I don't care!" Akane answered immediately, without thinking.

Nodoka opened her mouth to reply, but no words came out. Her only reaction was a sad smile that covered her face.

"It might be true that it doesn't make any difference to you. At the end of the day, what matters is being with him, isn't it?"

She didn't answer, but Nodoka noticed her shudder.

"But, did you think about the consequences? Did you think what would happen when people find out about it? 'Cause I assure you that this isn't something that you can keep secret."

"I don't care..."

The girl's voice sounded like a squeal, before being cut off sharply.

"And your family? It wouldn't matter if it was just Ranma and you alone. But have you thought of the humiliation and dishonor that we would suffer?"

"Shut up!" the girl screamed, but Nodoka forced herself to continue.

"Have you thought about your children? Do you know the problems that they could have? And, if you were lucky and they were completely healthy, what future would they have when everybody knows that their parents were siblings?"

Nodoka could have continued, but stopped when Akane started to tremble visibly. Despite not being able to see her face, she had no doubt that Akane was crying.

She knew that she had been hard on her, but it was necessary. When you were in love, and, in spite of everything, Nodoka didn't doubt that Ranma and Akane were; you see things much more optimistically. Somebody had to explain to them clearly what might happen and, although she hated having to be the one to tell them, there wasn't any one else.

She didn't doubt that she had done the right thing. However, this certainly didn't stop her eyes from filling with tears.

After a few unending moments an order was heard; whispered between sobs because the throat that uttered it had no more strength.

"Go away."

The woman didn't argue. She simply turned and left the room, closing the door gently behind her.

* * *

That night, while they dined together, Nodoka couldn't help but keep an eye on the engaged couple.

Both had appeared on time for dinner, but, apart from the greeting on arrival and a few complimentary words on being served, they had kept quiet, focusing on their plates. In spite of this, neither had touched their dinner. The paradox of Ranma's almost empty plate simply showed that he wasn't even bothering to stop his father from stealing his food.

Nodoka sighed quietly.

It was normal for them to be confused; she herself was unsure of her own mood. She would have done anything to try to help, but didn't know what to say, and feared that any of her words would just make things worse. Therefore she kept quiet, praying that the situation would get better on its own.

Unfortunately it was impossible that Nabiki wouldn't notice the mood of both teenagers and, in her own way, try to ease the atmosphere.

"What a long faces! Don't tell me that you've been fighting again."

The lack of reaction from the persons in question didn't worry Nabiki because she had saved the best to last.

"Honestly! You quarrel so much you're more like siblings than an engaged couple."

Nabiki's words caused the fathers to roar with sonorous laughter, and even made the circumspect Kasumi laugh. However, those same words made Nodoka's heart leap in her chest and the engaged couple were paralyzed by the shock, as if they had been hit by a lightning bolt.

The echo of laughter hadn't died away when Akane, slowly recovering from the surprise, left her bowl of rice and chopsticks, thanked her sister for the dinner, stood up and left the room.

Her father and two sisters stared at the door, surprised and unable to understand what was happening. At the same time, Genma turned to his son.

"Ranma, what are you waiting for? Go ...!"

His last words were lost in an animal growl as his wife threw the already cold contents of her cup of tea over him. Neither was necessary however, because Ranma had already stood up and gone to the door.

He only turned for a moment to look into his mother's eyes, daring her to stop him this time. A slight nod from her was enough for the young man to walk quickly out of the room, leaving the majority of its occupants wondering what had just happened.

* * *

Ranma ran up the stairs two steps at a time, and arrived upstairs just as his fiance reached the end of the corridor.

"Akane, wait!"

His pleading voice stopped her.

Seeing that she showed no inclination to turn around, he realized that he would have to be the first to speak if he wanted to start a conversation.

He wanted to ask so many things that, for a moment, he was unsure of what to say. When he finally opened his mouth, what came of it was:

"Do you believe what my... mother told us?" His voice stalled slightly at the last words, because he wasn't sure how to refer to Nodoka. "Do you think we...?"

"I don't know!" Akane cut in hoarsely, unable to hear again the word that was destroying her life.

Ranma could feel the pain in her voice, and tried to say something to relieve it.

"Akane, I ..."

The girl's body trembled upon hearing the concern and affection with which he pronounced her name. Opposing emotions wracked her body, and she had to collect all of her self-control to force out a few words.

"Ranma no! Please! Not now…!"

She didn't wait for a reply.

Akane swiftly covered the remaining distance to her room, entered and closed the door leaving a disconsolate Ranma behind her.

TBC...

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Answer to the Reviews:


	3. Chapter 3: Secrets Inside of Secrets

Disclaimers:

- Ranma belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

- This story is made for fun and is meant for the enjoyment of the fans.

- I have to thank JadeDragonHawk & Ranma-sama for revised this chapter. Thank you very much.

- Please R&R.

- If anybody wants to be a pre reader and help me you only have to e-mail me. I would be happy to accept. Thanks.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Chapter 03: Secrets Inside of Secrets.

There were a few hours left to dawn when Nodoka woke up. Half asleep, she opened her eyes and looked around the room. This was in semi-darkness, and the only thing that could be seen by the little light that came through the curtains was the dark silhouette of the furniture.

After realizing that it was still night-time, Nodoka cuddled up to her husband's soft fur and closed her eyes. While trying to get back to sleep, she noticed a detail that her sleepy mind had overlooked. Quickly she opened her eyes again and, after a moment to get used to the darkness, realized that Ranma's futon was empty.

The surprise woke her completely.

Without wasting a second, she got up quietly trying not to wake her husband, threw on the kimono that she had worn the previous day and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

The corridor was only dimly lit by the light coming in from the street. In spite of this, Nodoka had little trouble negotiating the gloom right to its very end. Once there, she caught a glimpse of the small bathroom situated next to the stairs; which, in the early hours of the morning, was just a dark empty hole.

Fearing that Ranma could have run away, his mother stumbled down the stairs while anxiety gnawed at her heart. No sooner had she reached the ground floor than a light from the kitchen caught her attention. She headed there with renewed hope, only to find silence. The light came from the small window in the door on the other side of the room. With her heart pounding in her chest, Nodoka opened the door and went out into the garden.

The Dojo with all its lights on lay in front of her. Through the closed door, she could see a figure's shadow moving smoothly inside. The woman laid her right hand on her chest and with great relief, let out her anxiety with a sigh. Without further ado, she made her way to the Dojo, opened its doors and entered. Just as she had supposed, Ranma was right in its centre performing a complex series of katas. The sweat, which drenched his hair and clothes, showed that he had been doing this for a long time. Although she might have gone back to her futon with the tranquillity of knowing where her son was, Nodoka stood beside the door. Ranma, for his part, didn't seem to have noticed her arrival and continued his practice without stopping. After a few minutes and without any sign to indicate that he would finish soon, his mother decided to interrupt him.

"Ranma, what are you doing?"

"Training." the boy replied, without even losing a beat at the question's suddenness.

"At this hour?" his mother asked, surprised.

"I couldn't sleep."

This answer wasn't a relief, since Ranma didn't usually have any trouble sleeping, quite the opposite in fact.

Nodoka hadn't any doubt that yesterday's events were the reason for her son's insomnia, but she felt lost whenever she attempted to get him to open his heart and tell her his problems.

"How long have you been here?" she asked in an attempt to continue the conversation.

"Since you fell asleep."

"Have you been here all night?"

"Yes."

Having overcome the initial shock, Nodoka's tone changed to one of a mother worried about her offspring. "Ranma, you can't do this to yourself. You have to rest!"

"It's my body! And I know it better than anyone!"

"True," she admitted reluctantly. "But sometimes I think you force yourself too much."

The words came out without thinking and it expressed a fear that Nodoka rarely allowed herself to enunciate with words. As a mother and wife of martial artists, she knew that a continuous effort was needed to remain at the highest level, but the fear of the consequences of such effort was also there.

The young man's reaction to the innocent comment was immediate. He stopped in the middle of a kata, and turned to look at his mother.

"What do you care what I do!" was his angry question.

"Of course I care about it! I'm your mother and..."

"Bullshit!" the young man cut her short with a scream. "You're not my mother!"

Nodoka stepped back, as if the exclamation had hit her physically. For a moment she didn't answer, but when she did, her voice was a strange mixture of anger and grief.

"It's true that I'm not your biological mother, only your adoptive mother," she said, emphasizing both adjectives. "But, even so, I am still your mother and I love you."

"Bullshit!" he screamed again. "No one can love me!"

If it hadn't been for the mistaken perception of manhood that Genma had taught to Ranma, he would have already burst into tears. At that moment, all that contained his tears was the false belief that men don't cry.

"How could you say those things, Ranma?" Nodoka asked with genuine incredulity. "Of course there are people who love you! Me for example, the Tendos, your friends... Even Genma loves you in his own way."

Ranma looked at his mother and asked pathetically:

"How could anyone love me, if I was abandoned by my own mother?"

Ranma's words were a revelation to Nodoka. His attitude and behaviour were crystal clear.

Once Ranma had come to terms with his adoption, it was only logical that he would wonder about the reasons behind it. Since the bond between a mother and a son is one of the strongest in the world, what could be his mother's reasons for abandoning him? The simplest answer was that she didn't love him, and, if his mother hadn't loved him, how could he love himself? How could anyone love him?

Nodoka did not respond, just walked over to her son and, before he could react and move away, hugged him against her body. Ranma took a moment of indecision to put his muscular arms around his mother's body and, already sheltered in her embrace, start to cry.

His mother watched the confused teen in silence, while his tears moistened her kimono uncomfortably. Feeling the need to say something, she started speaking with a slow and soft voice; barely more than a whisper.

"Don't think that your mother abandoned you when she left you to my care. I know that she did it only with the best in mind for you and your future."

"That is only a supposition," Ranma reproached her between sobs. "You couldn't know it for sure."

Despite the situation, Nodoka couldn't help a malicious grin crossing her face.

"I know, because she told me so."

This response cut short Ranma's cries, and he raised his head to watch her mother with tearful eyes.

"How?" was all that he managed to articulate.

"Do you think that when she brought you, I just said: "OK, leave him there?"" she replied wryly.

Her child's face was enough to confirm that her words weren't far from the scene that he had imagined.

"No, course not!" she was forced to confirm. "At first I refused and I reproached her for wanting to abandon you..." Nodoka stopped.

The expression on Ranma's face, eager for information, was painfully intense but understandable. He had the right to know what had happened that night, and a short summary would not be enough to dispel his confusion and doubts. His interlocutor not only recognized this right of the adolescent, but knew that the only one who could satisfy it was herself. With that in mind, she went on talking.

"I think I'd be better off telling you everything from the beginning."

Ranma nodded vehemently.

"I'll tell you what we are going to do. Go take a bath and change your clothes, while I make a cup of tea. When you finish, come here and I will tell you everything while we drink a relaxing cup of tea."

"Here?"

Nodoka looked around before answering. "Yeah, why not? Bearing in mind how late it is this is the best place to not disturb anyone."

Ranma nodded and ran out of the Dojo. His desire to know what had happened were so great that, despite his fatigue, he would have climbed Mount Fuji if anybody had assured him that the answers lay in the crater.

Once alone, Nodoka dried a tear with the back of her hand.

She had not realized it until now, when she listened to her own words. If her sister had entrusted her with Ranma's care, then Nodoka had failed both of them completely.

* * *

The tea was ready when Ranma came back to the Dojo.

Nodoka stopped removing the liquid for a moment to ask him to sit. Ranma obeyed without a comment, while his mother served the tea in two cups and passed one to him.

Finished with the preparations, Nodoka kept quiet while she rescued the memories of that day from the depths of her mind and ordered them consistently.

It was just a few seconds, but to Ranma it seemed like an eternity.

* * *

Bored, Nodoka was watching the television, when a yawn surprised her. Deciding it was a good time to go to bed; she got up slowly and turned off the TV. After a quick glance into the room to check that everything was more or less in order, she wrapped herself in her kimono and set about turning off the lights.

Then a knock sounded at the house's main door.

She turned to the door surprised, since she hadn't been expecting anyone. It was too late for any of her friends to come to visit and more than a month remained until Genma returned from his training trip.

How long had he been gone? She didn't know for sure but it seemed like an eternity, and she was looking forward to the day of his return.

She understood that the trips were necessary to meet new teachers and learn new techniques, but she couldn't get used to the loneliness. Moreover she didn't like his new teacher. Genma appeared to have high hopes for him but, despite not knowing him, Nodoka felt he was changing Genma.

New stronger knocks shook her back to reality. She advanced cautiously towards the door and, once there, asked with a trembling voice:

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Emu," a voice said quietly. "Open the door, please."

Although Nodoka hadn't heard it in years, she immediately recognized the voice and the name of her older sister.

With her heart pounding in the chest and a sweaty hand, she opened the door.

At the other side, silhouetted against the lights of the street, there was an attractive young woman with long black hair, dressed in an elegant Western-style suit. Her resemblance to Nodoka was so obvious that wearing glasses or stylistic choices couldn't hide it.

She acknowledged the presence of the house's lady with a smile.

"Emu! Long time no see!"

Nodoka's greeting caused her visitor to turn her head quickly to check if there was anybody on the street; as if she was afraid that someone would hear it, but the hostess didn't notice such a strange reaction. She was caught up in the excitement of seeing her sister again.

"Do you mind if I come in?" Emu asked politely, but with a hint of haste.

"Absolutely not." And moving a little away, she added: "Please, come in."

"Sorry for my intrusion."

Emu entered to the hall and took off her shoes, while her sister locked the front door. Once ready, Nodoka guided her to the lounge, where she was invited to sit.

"Do you want a drink? I can prepare a pot of tea, if you want."

"No, thanks."

"Ok."

After playing the role of a good hostess, Nodoka sat across the table in front of her sister.

"To be honest, I didn't expect that, after so many years, you'd knock on my door."

"What's strange about my visiting my sister?"

"Nothing, just that I didn't expect you after all these years."

"Part of the blame is yours," Emu reproached her gently. "It wouldn't have been so hard to find you, if you hadn't changed your surname."

"What else could I do?" Nodoka replied irritated. "Don't you remember that Dad expelled me from the family, because I wanted marry Genma?"

"Sorry," her sister said ruefully. "It wasn't my intention..."

Nodoka cut off her apology with a hand gesture.

"Let bygones be bygones. And since you mentioned him, tell me: How is Dad?"

Emu hesitated before answering.

Of all the questions that Nodoka could ask, Emu feared this one the most. But her sister had the right to know the truth.

"He died just two months after you left."

The answer came as a surprise to Nodoka, who always had assumed that the stubborn old man would bury all of them.

Despite all the years passed, she could still remember his face contorted with anger, when she told him that she wanted to marry Genma and during the subsequent discussion. That was the last time she had talked to him. That night she ran away from home and eloped with her boyfriend away from the parental impositions. Now, his death had carried away any possibility of reconciliation... Whom was she trying to fool? It was impossible that they would have been able to reconcile in life! Both were too stubborn to let their arm be twisted. Nodoka was honest enough with herself to admit that, probably, she wouldn't have gone to the funeral even if she had been notified. Two months had not been enough to cool down her resentment enough to take advantage of the last opportunity to see him. But she needed to know the reason that she hadn't been told at that time.

She stared at her older sister and asked.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I couldn't!" her sister said defensively. "Dad made me promise that I wouldn't say anything. Since both of you argued and... You eloped from home; he kept repeating that he had only one daughter. I'm sorry Nodoka."

But her sister was no longer listening.

She hadn't cared that her father had thrown her out of the house and disinherited her, but to know that he no longer considered her as a daughter had hurt more than she would have thought possible.

Trying to hide her pain, she took refuge in sarcasm.

"How lucky for you! This way you don't have to divide the inheritance with anyone!"

Perhaps because she knew her sister well, perhaps because she understood her mood, Emu didn't get angry by Nodoka's words.

"Do you think I prefer the money to my own sister?" was her calm and measured response.

Realizing what she had said, Nodoka tried to apologize while a blush coloured her features in shame.

"Sorry. When I heard that Dad... Excuse me; I didn't think what I was saying."

Nodding, her older sister accepted the apology.

"There isn't really so much left after paying for the funeral and everything, only the house and a pension. But if you want, I have no problem sharing it with you."

"There's no need," Nodoka said. "You can have everything as he wanted. Compared to the mansion, this isn't a big deal," her hand made a wide arc indicating the humble home, "but it's enough for Genma and me. I don't need anything more, especially now that we have been reunited."

At these words, Emu looked down ashamed.

"Is something wrong?" Nodoka asked noticing her sister's strange behaviour.

She, unable to bear Nodoka's gaze, kept her eyes fixed on the table between them.

"I am glad to see you too, but the real reason of my visit is more selfish. I need to ask you a favour."

Emu hesitated a moment before continuing. She feared that Nodoka would be offended at learning the real reason of her visit. However, the latter was only thinking of how she could repair the insult she had inflicted on her sister.

"If I can, I'll do it. That's what sisters are for!"

Her words drew a small smile from Emu, which faded quickly.

"You must know that I had a child less than a week ..."

"Congratulations!" Nodoka cut her off with great joy. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

Her happiness, though genuine, was not enough to clear the cloud of concern that covered her sister.

"Thanks," she said without much emotion before continuing. "The truth is that some...problems have cropped up, and I need to ask you to take care of him."

Nodoka, who wanted a child of her own, responded without hesitation.

"You don't have to ask. Of course I will do it! I have no problem in taking care of him any time."

"I don't think I explained myself very well. What I am asking is for you to be his mother."

Her sister looked at her blankly.

"I know that we're a lot alike. But, don't you think that he'll notice it?" Nodoka quipped.

Didn't she understand it or didn't she want to? Doubt assaulted Emu who, nevertheless, had to admit that she hadn't explained herself clearly. But how could she put it bluntly, when it hurt so much just thinking the words? What she was going to do was something that no mother should allow, but she had to do it for the sake of her child. It was the right thing to do; but it didn't make it easier!

She had taken the decision after learning she was pregnant and for nine months she had prepared herself for this.

It had been for nothing.

The grief she felt was too strong to mitigate.

Emu took a deep breath.

She had to focus. This wasn't the time for doubt. It was time to gather all the willpower she had been amassing, and say the right words, despite the pain that gripped her heart. In a show of force, Emu raised her head and looked at her sister with eyes that seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"What I am asking is that you adopt and take care of him."

"That I adopt him? Your son?" Nodoka said unable to hide her surprise.

Emu nodded.

For a moment her sister was speechless as her mind refused to believe what her ears were telling her. When she finally surrendered to the evidence, her answer was instantaneous.

"No! If you didn't want him, you should have taken precautions or had an abortion. And I was supposed to be the irresponsible sister!"

The suddenness of her reply wasn't typical of Nodoka, but she was too angry to worry about being polite.

How dared her sister even suggest such a thing? How could she be so selfish? For her who wanted, but couldn't have, children, the lack of concern with which her sister wanted to abandon hers was hurtful. And she didn't even have the decency to be embarrassed for suggesting it!

Nodoka's refusal and reproach didn't seem to affect her sister, who remained silent until Nodoka calmed down enough to listen again.

When Emu spoke, her voice was slightly irritated.

"And why do you suppose that I wouldn't want him?"

"Then why are you going to abandon him?" Nodoka asked incredulously, her voice slightly higher than necessary.

"Do you think that I want do it? Having him is the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I would love to watch him grow up, but that would be selfish of me. The best thing for him is to live with a normal family."

"What you are saying doesn't make any sense! How can it be selfish to take care of your own child?"

"It is, if you know that he will be in danger while both of you are together!"

Emu stopped abruptly, afraid she had said too much.

Her last words aroused her sister's imagination, and the scene that her mind showed wasn't pleasant.

"Oh my God! " she said visibly upset. "Have you had any problems with the father of your son? Did he threaten you?"

"No," Emu responded with genuine surprise.

"Did he hit you?"

"No!" said her sister, shaking her head. "It has nothing to do with what you're thinking."

Nodoka was getting tired of playing a guessing game. "If it is not what I'm thinking, then tell me what it is!" she demanded strongly. "What problems do you have to think that your child would be better off with me than with his birth mother?"

Emu had hoped that it wouldn't necessary to give too many explanations, but she was realistic enough to know that no one would take care of a child just like that. And now, faced with a direct question, there was no possibility of postponing the answers any longer. She sighed with resignation.

However...

"Sorry, but I can't tell you," she said softly but firmly.

"You can't or you won't?"

"I can't!"

That was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"That's a lie!" Nodoka exploded. "It's a lie that you can't tell me! Say that you don't want to!"

"You don't understand!"

"Well, explain it!"

The cry was followed by silence. Both sisters, realizing that their conversation had degenerated into a shouting match, remained staring each other wordlessly.

Of the two, Nodoka was the one that looked calmer. With a straight face, eyes fixed on her sister, tried to find a way to convince Emu to abandon her idea. She, in turn, seemed indecisive and hesitant. She lifted her head to look at Nodoka, only to turn it away a moment later. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it again without pronouncing a word. Sometimes, the onset of a sound escaped from her lips, before the struggle that was going on in her mind cut it.

But no fight lasts forever.

After a few agonizing minutes, she managed to exclaim in a pleading voice:

"Please Nodoka! Don't make it harder than it already is!"

Nodoka, deep in thought, didn't answer.

Interpreting her silence as a denial of her request, Emu began to stand up and leave the table.

"I see you've already made your decision. Sorry to bother you."

She had barely stood up, when her sister reacted and raised her arm.

"Wait!"

Nodoka looked up and their eyes met again.

"What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know. I really don't know."

"Are you going to send him to an orphanage?"

The silence was more eloquent than any reply.

Nodoka sighed with resignation.

"All right! I'll take care of your baby."

"Thanks." Emu said simply.

Her voice showed no joy, because, despite gaining her sister's acceptance, she really had no reason to rejoice. All she wanted was to end this once and for all, and let time ease the pain of her heart.

There was only one last detail.

"Do you mind if I bring him here now?"

The suggestion caught Nodoka by surprise.

"Now? You mean right now?"

"Yes."

"Oh, uh, well, I guess."

"Thanks!" Emu said, while showed her appreciation with a slight nod.

Nodoka watched silently at her sister leaving the room. Moments later she heard the front door opening and then closing again.

If at that moment someone had asked Nodoka about her strange change of mind, she would have denied it. She kept thinking that what her sister was doing was wrong, but she had decided to accept for two reasons.

Firstly, it was preferable that she adopt her sister's son rather than have Emu send him to an orphanage. At least this way, the boy would grow up in a family.

Secondly, if Emu had said that she had problems, then it must be true since she had never lied to Nodoka. Oh, of course she had told fibs when they were younger! But she had never lied about really important things.

And while both reasons were true, a third was the one which, subconsciously, tipped the balance.

Nodoka, like many women unable to have children, wanted a chance to be a mother. An opportunity to raise, educate and watch a child grow whom she could call son. And that was exactly what her sister's request meant.

A decision based on one's own selfish desires might be the wrong one. But, who could blame someone who follows the desires internalized by her heart?

A new knock on the door marked the beginning of a quarter of an hour of frantic activity. Nodoka barely had time to think where to put what her sister was bringing, before she came with more.

Baby clothes, diaper bags, a baby-bottle, a bag with everything that could be needed for his hygiene...

Although Emu couldn't have known Nodoka's answer to her request, it was clear that she had prepared herself thoroughly so her child would have everything he needed if Nodoka agreed.

The only thing missing, Nodoka noticed, was the baby.

She was going to ask her sister about that point, who was approaching with a briefcase, when the doorbell rang again.

"Who could be now?" Nodoka asked puzzled while walked to the door.

In their rush to open, she didn't see the change that occurred in the expression of her sister, where her surprise gave way to irritation.

Nodoka opened the door to find a stranger with a bundle in his arms.

Though taller than the average man, he was clearly Japanese. His hair, dark brown, was slightly long but well groomed. He wore a dark suit similar to the one worn by Nodoka's sister. But what most impressed her were his features. Despite the shadows of the night, she could say without any doubt that the stranger was one of the most handsome men that she had ever seen. If there was anything that surprised her, it wasn't that her sister had fallen in love with this man, but that he had fallen in love with Emu. However the sculptor, who had produced a face so beautiful, hadn't put a lot of effort into his expression, which had been frozen in polite seriousness.

When he spoke his voice was deep and polite but firm.

"Excuse me, are you Nodoka Saotome?"

"Yes, that's me."

"Thank you for your understanding."

And with those words, he handed her what proved to be a baby a few days old, wrapped in blankets against the cold night.

Nodoka took the baby instinctively, without knowing what to say. Everything had happened at an unreal speed, and only then, with the baby in her arms, the reality seemed to crystallize around her.

The voice of her sister sharply pulled her out of her reverie.

"Excuse me. Would you mind taking Ranma to the living room?"

One look was enough.

With the knowledge that only is acquired from growing up together, Nodoka felt her sister's anger, and despite being in her own house, she obeyed.

Nodoka carried Ranma to the living room, closing the door behind her, and sat beside the table to cradle the baby.

"Ranma. So that's your name?" she asked the sleepy baby, while watching his angel's face.

In the silence of the room, the new mother couldn't help but hear the voices that came from the hall.

"I told you to wait in the car!" she heard her sister.

The clarity with which it reached her was a sure sign of the high tone with which it must have been produced.

"... Haven't time ..." her companion's voice replied more calmly.

"... Could recognize you ..."

"... Worry ..."

The rest of the conversation was an unintelligible murmur, but Nodoka didn't care.

The conversation, held between her sister and the man who had delivered the baby, wasn't her concern and trying to listen would have been a serious breach of good manners. Therefore, she didn't pay attention to it, and tried to forget the pieces she heard.

Finally she heard the front door close and, a moment later, Emu came in with a briefcase. While she sat next to Nodoka, she asked:

"Is that man Ranma's father?"

"Yes," replied her sister distractedly, while placed the briefcase on the table.

Confirmed in her suspicions, Nodoka marvelled at the man's control not to show his feelings in such a sensitive time like this. He really must be a man of great manners and composure. Let's hope Genma learns to behave with at least half the decorum of Emu's husband! But outside of the martial arts, his interest in such things was zero.

Turning her attention to the present, Nodoka found that her sister had placed the briefcase in front of her.

"What is it?" she asked.

"They're the documents for the adoption process and a small help for Ranma's living expenses."

Intrigued, Nodoka cradled the baby in her right arm and opened the briefcase with the left one.

The interior was taken up by a thick folder full of sheets, bundles of used banknotes and, above all, a business card.

Unable to feel more surprised than she already was, the younger sister took the business card and read it aloud.

"Saromi, Takumi. Attorney."

"It's an acquaintance of mine who can help with any problems that you could have with the adoption process or the money."

Her sister's words caused Nodoka to look up from the card and look at her surprised. Emu hadn't any difficulty in guessing the meaning of that look.

"No, it isn't black money," she added with a smile. "It's just a little money that I had saved, but the tax office can be very nosy with windfall gains and he can help you."

Nodoka accepted her sister's word, left the card in its place and closed the briefcase.

"Anything else?" she asked.

"No, that's all." After a brief pause Emu added: "I think it's time to go."

"You know that you can come back anytime you want."

"Yes, I know. Thank you."

However Emu didn't move, but sat there watching as her sister cradled the baby.

"Do you mind if I say goodbye to my son?" she finally asked.

"Not at all."

Nodoka passed the baby to her sister with great care, who took him in her arms, hugging him as if she wanted to etch the warmth of his body into her mind.

"I hope you will be happy," she wished. "And that you might forgive your father and me."

At last, she kissed his forehead and gave him back to Nodoka. With a demure gesture, she wiped a rebellious tear that had managed to escape her iron self-control, and stood up.

"When will we see you again?" her sister asked.

"I don't know."

"You know that this is your home."

"Thank you. Sorry to bother you."

Emu left the room and the last thing Nodoka heard of her sister was the sound of the door being closed.

* * *

At the end of the story, the tears flowed freely down Ranma´s cheeks. Although this time, sadness wasn't the reason.

The young man looked at his adoptive mother and, with great effort, managed to articulate:

"My mother loved me! She really loved and cared for me!"

Nodoka's smile was the final confirmation, while a silent 'I told you so' was suspended in the air.

As the joy of being loved diminished, the curiosity to know what danger had forced his mother to abandon him began to grow in the young's mind.

"What could worry my mother so much, to leave me in your care?"

"I don't know," Nodoka admitted, trying not to think about the way that Ranma had referred to her sister. "That was the last time I saw her."

The young man nodded to himself and, bowing his head, spent several minutes deep in thought.

Understanding her adopted son's need to out sort his feelings, Nodoka kept quiet while she finished her cold cup of tea.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" whispered the crestfallen youth.

Certainly. Why not?

Since she had been reunited with her son, there hadn't been a day where Nodoka didn't wonder whether or not she should tell him the truth. She had tried to reason her decision, but, as often happens when feelings are at stake, this had not served at all. Whom was she kidding? Letting time pass without making a decision was a decision in itself.

"I didn't think it was necessary."

"You didn't think it was necessary?" her adopted son asked, half surprised, half angry.

"That's one reason," she acknowledged. "But I was afraid that you would reject me, if you knew the truth. I know that I haven't been a good mother. I abandoned you for many years and..." Her voice was cut off by emotion and she could only add: "I hope you can forgive me."

The young man remained silent.

He didn't like seeing people sad, and even less if it was his fault. However, too many things had happened in the last day and he hadn't enough strength to forgive her. Maybe tomorrow after he had rested, but not today.

Once the inner turmoil that had been keeping him awake subsided, a sense of fatigue began to overwhelm him.

He put his cup down and stood up, but before he could make his way towards the exit, the woman who had tried to be his mother spoke again.

"Please, don't tell any of this to your father."

The young man didn't even ask the reason for such a request; he simply tried to nod when a yawn interrupted him. Viewing the fatigue reflected in every one of Ranma's gestures, Nodoka stood up and supported him.

"Come on, I'll help you to bed."

Leaning on each other, they left the Dojo quietly and headed toward the house.

* * *

The only colors present in the perfect blue sky were the dawn's hazy dyes that colored the vicinity of a lazy sun.

All promised a perfect day, but for Akane, who was heading to school like any other day, it couldn't have been a greater contrast to her mood. A stormy cloudy sky would have been more in keeping with her turbulent humor.

The hopes for the night were unfounded. Rest hadn't brought any solution, and awakening had only worsened her mood. Fortunately Ranma wasn't with her, otherwise his nonsense would have been very likely to set off the young girl's volatile mood.

She walked lost in thought, shipwrecked in a sea of uncertainty and with a little more than a tenuous grip on her emotions when she collided with reality.

Without even looking at the person she had bumped into, she bowed to apologize.

"Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."

"It's my fault for going so fast," said a familiar voice.

When Akane stood up, she met Dr. Tofu's smiling face.

"Doctor!" Akane exclaimed pleasantly surprised. "Long time no see!"

"Certainly. But, from what I've heard, not because you have ceased to get into trouble."

The doctor's cutting remark made Akane blush.

"Doctor!" she said slightly angry.

"It was just a joke," he said with a smile. "And Ranma? Don't you go to the school together any more?"

"Apparently he wasn't feeling well and is staying in bed, or so his mother told me."

"Nothing serious, I hope."

"Surely not!"

"Good. The truth is that, seeing you alone, I feared that the recent events would have affected your relationship."

The doctor's innocent words, coupled with the stress accumulated during the past few weeks, caused an unexpected response in the young woman; who discovered in alarm that her eyes were filling with tears and her hands beginning to shake.

Why was this happening to her? She didn't want to cry! She shouldn't cry! Not right now in front of the doctor! That alone would worry him, and he would start asking questions that she didn't want to answer. She should pull herself together, calm down...

But her body didn't obey.

Akane's fears became reality with Tofu's next words.

"Did I say something I shouldn't? Sorry, if I said something that upset you."

The concern expressed by the doctor broke the last barriers of the young woman, allowing the tears to flow freely.

Unable to control her emotions, Akane threw herself into the only trusty support and, embraced by the doctor, let them run unchecked.

After the initial surprise, Tofu tried to comfort the girl in his arms, while gently guiding her so she could unburden herself in the privacy of his office.

* * *

Minutes later, Akane came out from the bathroom refreshed and with the cheeks clean. Before her, the doctor was waiting with a cup of steaming liquid.

"Take this," he said offering the cup. "It's a valerian tea. It will help you to relax."

Lost in thought, Akane took the cup mechanically, and without even waiting for it to cool, drank it completely. Once empty, she returned it to the doctor.

"Feeling better?" he said, as he took the cup. "You know that if you have any problems, you can count on me."

The doctor's words caused Akane to react and, following a sudden impulse, put into words the question that tormented her.

"Doctor, please tell me: How can anybody know if two people are siblings?"

Tofu, struck by the strangeness of the question, said the first thing that crossed his mind.

"Eh, well ... Because they have the same parents?"

Overcoming the urge to strangle the good doctor, Akane realized that an explanation would be needed, if she wanted to get a useful answer. She would rather not have to tell anyone, but she needed solid evidence to convince Nodoka and, perhaps, he could obtain it.

She rested her gaze on the ground and, reluctantly, began unfolding the events that had happened since the failed marriage: The conversation with Ukyo, the confrontation with Nodoka, the story that she had told...

After the story, the doctor reacted swiftly.

"Ranma... And you ... Siblings!" was all that Tofu managed to pronounce in astonishment.

"Stupid, huh?"

"Well, I can understand why Nodoka did what she did. She couldn't allow your wedding, when she wasn't sure that the two of you aren't siblings. Although ..."

"Exactly!" Akane cut off. "That's why I... We need proof to convince her."

Turning around towards the doctor, she looked him in the eyes and asked:

"Tell me! Is there a way, any way, to confirm that we aren't siblings?"

Unable to withstand the intensity of her gaze, the doctor left the cup on a table and started pacing up and down the room.

"Well," he said after thinking for a while. "In the last few years, DNA tests have been used to resolve doubtful paternity cases. It also might serve to distinguish the relation between siblings, but I would need to confirm it."

"And how reliable are these tests?" Akane asked, with a glimmer of hope present in her voice.

"If I remember correctly, they have a reliability close to one hundred percent."

"That's just what I need, a medical test impossible to disprove," the girl said, grinning from ear to ear.

The doctor was glad to help the girl but, fearing that the results wouldn't match her expectations, he tried to temper her mood.

"Akane, I have yet to confirm that the test is possible," the doctor said. "Note that it is not my field at all, and I only know the little that I've read in the medical magazines."

"Of course! And do you know if there is a place where they could make the test here, in Japan?"

The doctor sighed resignedly.

It was useless to try to make her see that it was only a possibility. It was clear that, although the young woman could hear, she wasn't listening. He had opened the door to hope, and she had wrenched it off its hinges.

"I don´t know," he replied. "Like I said, this is completely outside my field."

"But you could find out, right?" the girl said.

"Yes, I think so."

"Thank you, doctor."

Then the clock struck nine o'clock.

Akane turned to look at it and, when she saw what time it was, she swore.

She should have been in school half an hour ago, but had lost track of time talking with the doctor.

Tofu, who understood immediately the reason for the girl's sudden change of mood, asked:

"Will you get into trouble for being late?"

"Are you joking? Our director is so paranoid with punctuality, that he won't let me in, and if he does, I will be holding buckets the rest of the day."

"If you want, I could write you an absence note." Tofu offered in a tentative tone.

"If you don't mind..."

"Absolutely not."

A few seconds were enough for the doctor to write a note, which blamed the young woman's delay on a slight indisposition. He signed it and gave it to her, before he went with her to the exit. Once outside, Akane politely said goodbye to the doctor, and walked quickly towards the institute.

Tofu watched the teenager while she walked down the street, until she disappeared from his sight. Then he came back to the practice, closed the door and switched the sign to closed. Once sure that no one was going to interrupt him, he went to his office.

There, he drew the curtains before taking down a picture of the human body from the wall and with a steady hand, entered the combination to the safe hidden behind. It opened with a soft metallic sound. The doctor took a cardboard box from inside, placed it on the table and sat down. He took a satellite phone from the case, identical to the ones used in the U.S. Army, along with its charger. After connecting both of them, he left the phone on the table, plugged the charger into the outlet and waited.

After endless minutes, the phone had enough charge to make calls. Tofu disconnected the charger, took the phone and dialled by heart a number that wasn't on any phonebook. The ring sounded repeatedly before a voice on the other side of the line, answered in Cantonese.

"Hello?"

The language difference wasn't a problem for Tofu, who responded with a perfect accent.

"Good morning, Mr. Chen. How are you?"

"Doctor?" the voice asked in surprise. "I haven't heard from you for a long time."

"Yes, I know. I've been so busy lately that I forgot to call you."

"Lots of work?"

"Too much! Fortunately I have all the weekend to rest."

"We all need to rest, but I can´t imagine you lying at home doing nothing."

"The truth is that I'm thinking about visiting the zoo. I have heard that the tigress' cubs have already begun to walk."

"Sounds interesting, but you know how I feel about having animals in cages."

"Yeah, well. By the way, before I forget. I called to ask if you had thought about getting a medical exam."

There was a short silence at the other end of the line before Mr. Chen´s voice could be heard again.

"I've talked about it with my partner, and we believe that it would be a good idea."

"I'm glad to hear it. I'll call you when I know the date and time."

"Thank you doctor."

"You're welcome. Give my regards to your partner."

"I'll be sure to tell her you said hello. See you doctor."

"Bye."

Dr. Tofu turned off the phone and left it on the table. Then he leaned back in his chair, which gave way slightly, closed his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose.

Well, it was done. As expected, they hadn't put up any resistance to having the tests done, although they didn't have any other options either. Not allowing them to dispel their doubts would have been cruel.

From now on the future was uncertain.

Tofu stopped massaging his nose, put his arms on the armrests, and gave himself five minutes of peace before opening the office again.

* * *

Sitting on the first floor's steps, Akane was revising the previous day's homework while she waited patiently for the end of the first hour of class.

With the doctor's note, she hadn't had any problems entering school. However, as the class was due to finish in less than twenty minutes, she preferred to wait outside instead of interrupting her teacher and classmates.

At that time, the bell's chime signalling the end of the first hour was heard clearly throughout the school.

Before the chime ended, Akane had put the notebooks in her school-bag and was making her way towards her classroom with a big smile on her face.

Quite rightly. Her conversation with Dr. Tofu had cleared the clouds that hovered over her future. Once the doctor confirmed it, a simple test would clear all the obstacles and convince Nodoka that they weren't siblings. The rest wouldn't be a problem. She knew exactly what Ranma had said in the Phoenix Mountain, but the pig-head didn't want to admit it.

Akane was turning to face the last flight of stairs when the sound of feet descending made her stop hastily.

On the opposite flight, she saw her rival Ukyo coming down, dragging along a carefree Nabiki, who let herself be carried away. Upon arriving on the landing, Ukyo threw her companion into a corner and, leaning her arm on the wall, cut off any possibility of escape with her body.

The scene left Akane gasping.

Although she couldn't see Ukyo´s face, Akane supposed that she must be very angry to confront her sister in such a direct way. She'd never seen anybody treat Nabiki this way, as she was quite capable of making your life miserable. Ukyo must be really angry to have forgotten this.

Nabiki, meanwhile, seemed to be enjoying the new experience. Proof of this was the smile displayed on her face; a smile that wasn't helping improve Ukyo's mood.

"I have no idea where you got the money," Ukyo snapped at Nabiki. "But you are very mistaken if you think you can buy me!"

Ukyo´s words pricked Akane´s curiosity, who advanced towards them.

"What are you talking about?"

Upon hearing the question, Nabiki looked up and greeted her sister with a wave of her hand, as if what was happening were the most normal thing in the world. Ukyo, meanwhile, turned around, allowing Akane to confirm her previous assumption.

Once she faced her rival, she snorted in a very unfeminine way and said:

"Ah, don't you know that your sister has offered me one hundred million to give up Ranma."

"What!" Akane cried out in surprise.

Her eyes were fixed on her sister, whose only response was an enigmatic smile.

TBC…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Answer to the Reviews:


End file.
